


Corpses

by Marorin5



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Gen, Mirai Trunks | Future Trunks Timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-24 05:17:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7495311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marorin5/pseuds/Marorin5
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mirai Timeline: Why did he want to say goodbye to some corpses? After all, he knew they wouldn't be able to hear him. He wanted to see the corpses, so that he could say goodbye, tell them how much he would miss them, maybe ask for forgiveness. Most of all, he wanted to assure them that their deaths would not be in vain. Not one death would go unaccounted for. Not one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Corpses

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a one-shot that was inspired by an episode of DBZ in which Trunks tells Cell about his future; how everyone died and that he and Gohan were the only ones left, until Gohan died as well. 
> 
> This is pretty dark. Nine-year-old Gohan wants to say goodbye to his friends who have died in the battle against the androids, and their corpses are not a pretty sight. If you're not interested in dark stuff, then maybe this isn't something you'd like to read. Otherwise, I hope you like this story!

He kept walking. Even though the city was completely destroyed—burning buildings, screaming people, loud sirens—he kept walking. He ignored his surroundings. He ignored the pain he was feeling and he kept on walking, despite the fact his body was practically begging him to stop moving. He wouldn't stop. He had learned how to force physical suffering into the back on his mind, so he wasn't really bothered by the fact his body was at its limits. Besides, it was very little compared to the _real_ pain he was feeling. Not the physical pain, but _other_ type of pain; the emotional one. _That_ excruciating feeling that was almost suffocating him, making him feel as if his chest would explode any moment for the overload of pain he was feeling there; in his heart.

But it wasn't a new, unknown pain. No. Not for Gohan. For Gohan, it was a familiar pain—one that he was already starting to get used to. Before, with the help of the Dragon Balls, death didn't really mean anything. Sure, it obviously hurt when someone he cared about died, but then he would remember that, with the Dragon Balls, that person would come back to life. And that knowledge was the one that would work like some kind of anesthesia—it would make the pain disappear. It would make him have hope.

However, it couldn't always be that way.

The first time Gohan felt that excruciating emotional pain was when his father finally succumbed to the deadly Heart Virus. Goku had been such a powerful warrior—a Super Saiyan, a legend—and yet, a mere virus managed to destroy him—to _kill_ him. The fact that his father had died in one of the most painful—and most disappointing—way was already a hard blow, but that time, there was no going back. Goku had already been wished back with the Dragon Balls; he couldn't be revived again. And even if he hadn't been revived by the Dragon Balls, they couldn't bring back someone who died due to a natural cause—like a virus.

Gohan didn't want to believe it at first—no-one wanted to—but they all had to come with terms with the fact that their beloved Goku would just not come back. Not even with the powerful Dragon Balls could they bring him back. Maybe they could've if they used the Namekian Dragon Balls, but they didn't know where that was located in the first place. The fact he would never see his father again, that he would never play with him, or train with him, just _being_ with him; it was painful. Very much so, and there was nothing that could make it better. It was a fresh wound, and nothing could prevent it from hurting. How could it? His father was dead.

Gohan just couldn't believe he was feeling the same pain only six months after his father's demise.

When Goku died, everyone was obviously saddened and hurt by the Earth-raised Saiyan's departure. It was a death Goku did not deserve, but he got, anyways. It was never the same after the Heart Virus finally managed to put an end to the mighty Super Saiyan. To Gohan, it was terrible. The pain was unbearable, and so was the knowledge that he would never see his father again in this life. It was hard, but everyone Goku left behind had to eventually move on. Gohan knew Goku would've wanted him and Chi-Chi to be happy, to he tried his best to move on after grieving.

And just when he was finally being able to move on, those Androids had to come and attack everyone.

He couldn't really remember what had happened. Everything was just a blur. He remembered coming to the city with the other Z-Fighters after hearing about the destruction of Sasebo, and finding these two twins that introduced themselves to be Androids created by Doctor Gero in order to kill Goku. Gohan remembered that he and his friends fought, but the fight itself was a blur in his memory. He could only remember some few pieces of it. But he was smart enough to conclude that it was due to the fight that he ended up unconscious in the middle of the destroyed city.

When he had woken up, a terrible pain had greeted him and every single movement was torture, but his mind had been somewhere else. He hadn't been alone when fighting the Androids. His friends had been there. The Androids didn't seem to be around anymore, but what about his friends? He tried to search for their Ki, but he couldn't sense them. He told himself that he was just too tired to sense anything, or that the others were just too weak to show off a big Ki. That was why he was walking in the destroyed city, despite the pain he was feeling and despite his surroundings. He wanted to find his friends. He kept telling himself that they would be alive, although the pain in his chest was telling him otherwise.

Gohan saw some few people alive while he searched for any known person. Everyone who looked at him would gasp and stare at him in worry and surprise. He guessed he couldn't really blame them; after all, the Androids did beat him pretty bad. He was wounded, swollen, bleeding and it hurt to do just about anything, but he ignored his aching body and the looks he got and kept on walking. He wasn't the only one hurt, and he was pretty sure everyone just worried over him because he was a kid. He gritted his teeth. So what if he was a kid? He was a strong boy who could perfectly take care of himself! He was Son Goku's son! They really should care about taking care of themselves and their loved ones instead of worrying about him. He didn't care if they worried, because he didn't care about anything but finding his own loved ones at the moment.

His aching heart refused to let him completely believe that his friends would be alright. But, he tried to ignore that pain—ignore that nagging voice that told him that he was the only survivor—because he didn't want to believe everyone else was dead. He was a smart boy, but he wasn't thinking rationally. He was coming up with all these theories of how the other warriors were alive somewhere, somehow, even if it was pretty much impossible that they survived. And while Gohan didn't really remember the battle, he did remember how the Androids beat him and his friends. The probability that they were alive was close to zero, but Gohan still refused to believe.

And so he kept on walking, despite the pain, despite the looks he was getting, despite _everything._ His black eyes kept on searching for something— _anything_ —that would belong to his friends. He wasn't sure how long he had been walking like some kind of zombie until he _finally_ recognized something. In the distance, in a pool of blood, lay the body of someone. The body had no detectable Ki, which would mean that the person was dead. But even without sensing the inexistent Ki, Gohan could tell who it was. After all, who else on Planet Earth would wear a blue Saiyan armor?

_'Vegeta…'_

Gohan walked to Vegeta's body and halted at what he saw. It was obvious the Prince of all Saiyans was dead. He was swollen and bleeding all over. The amount of blood around the Saiyan Prince seemed to be way too much. The Androids sure seemed to have fun with him. His spine was angled unnaturally, one of his legs seemed to be twisted, and he was missing an arm. When noticing that last fact, Gohan began to look around. That arm had to be somewhere. Finally, he noticed something that looked like an arm five meters away from Vegeta's body.

The young boy walked to the arm and picked it up, then went back to Vegeta's corpse and put the arm where it should've been. "I figured you wouldn't want your arm away from you, Vegeta," Gohan told the corpse. "You're so proud. You wouldn't want to accept that someone was strong enough to rip your arm, especially since you were a Super Saiyan…" What was he doing? Talking to corpses? It was obvious Vegeta couldn't hear him! But he kept on talking. "At least you died as a warrior. I'm sure that you wouldn't have wanted to die any other way." Seriously, why was he still talking? He already knew Vegeta was dead. There was no point in talking to his corpse. Was there? "I'll take care of Bulma and Trunks for you. I'll even train Trunks as you would've wanted."

Why did he want to assure a corpse that he would take care of his loved ones? Did Vegeta even care for Bulma and Trunks? Either way, he felt he should take care of them, just in case. Maybe Vegeta wasn't as cold blooded as he let on. Maybe he did care for his lover and son. Gohan didn't even know how he would tell Bulma that Vegeta was gone. "I'll make sure the Androids are defeated, too. I promise you, your death wasn't in vain. Those monsters will die… at the hands of a Saiyan." Somehow, Gohan managed to form a little smile in his young face. He remembered how proud Vegeta was of their heritage. Surely it would make Vegeta happy if the Androids were destroyed by one of their kind. And Gohan would make sure that was the case.

"Goodbye, Vegeta. It was terrible knowing you, but I guess I'll miss you." And without any more words, Gohan began to walk away from Vegeta's corpse. His mind was flooded with memories that he shared with Vegeta. The first time he fought Vegeta, when they teamed up on Namek, and the few interactions they shared when they came back to Earth. They weren't exactly nice or happy memories, but Gohan would cherish them anyways. He would never forget the proud Prince of Saiyans.

It didn't matter if Vegeta lay there for a little longer. He could come get his body for a proper burial later. He needed to find the rest of his friends. _'But if Vegeta is dead, then what's the chance that the others are alive?'_ Vegeta had been a Super Saiyan, and yet he was still defeated by the two twin Androids. Really, what was the chance that the others were alive? _'I won't believe until I see their corpses. And if they really are dead, I have to at least say goodbye…'_

Why did he want to say goodbye to some corpses? After all, he knew they wouldn't be able to hear him. It would be like saying goodbye to the wind. Any normal person wouldn't want to see the dead bodies of their loved ones, especially not kids. But Gohan wasn't a normal kid. He wanted to see the corpses, so that he could say goodbye, tell them how much he would miss them, maybe ask for forgiveness for not being strong enough and for having to be saved all the time. Most of all, he wanted to assure them that their deaths would not be in vain. He would make sure of it.

Not that far away from where he found Vegeta, there was another body he could recognize. How could he not recognize the man's scars and the orange Gi the Turtle School's ex-students wore with so much pride? _'That's Yamcha…'_ His mind was once again flooded with memories, but this time, the protagonist was the Desert Bandit whose body was underneath a pile of rubble. Maybe the other survivors would think that Yamcha was killed because of being squashed under the rubble, but Gohan knew that wasn't the case.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to see Yamcha's injuries, but Gohan forced himself to man up and get the rubble off of Yamcha. He would have to do it sooner or later, anyways. When he began to get close to finally get all rubble off of the baseball player, Gohan noticed the red liquid that had dyed the rubble. _'Oh no…'_ After removing all the red-colored rubble, Gohan could only gasp at what he saw. There was a huge hole in Yamcha's chest. It was full of rubble, but the young demi-Saiyan could tell that the blast that made the hole had literally blasted Yamcha's insides. Not only that; he also had his feet missing which meant the Androids probably tortured him before killing him, just like they did with Vegeta.

Imagining Yamcha's horrible death was too much for Gohan's young mind and he burst into tears. He wasn't sobbing, just crying quietly. "Yamcha, how could they do this to you?" he asked, his voice not trembling once despite his tears. He remembered when Yamcha decided to fight first when the Saiyans invaded so that Krillin wouldn't have to die again. He remembered when Yamcha came over to visit and brought him awesome gifts. He remembered when he would invite them all to his baseball games. Yamcha would demand his coach to get his friends the best seats in the stadium.

Yamcha was a good man. Even after he broke up with Bulma, he still remained friends with her and he helped her with Trunks since Vegeta was too busy training and being a dick. He used to be a thief, but he changed for the better and was one of his father's best friends. Yamcha helped him and Chi-Chi when Goku was sick along with Goku's other friends. He also tried to help them to move on; always reminding them Goku would have wanted them all to be happy. He was a great friend. "What am I supposed to tell Puar?" Yamcha and Puar had been friends and partners for the longest time. Puar saw Yamcha as family, and Gohan really didn't how he'd react to the fact Yamcha was gone.

"Puar will be safe, Yamcha. I'll make sure he is," he told Yamcha's corpse. "I'm also gonna take care of Bulma and Trunks, not only because I promised Vegeta that I would, but because I know you cared about them, too." Yamcha was probably more of a father to baby Trunks than Vegeta was, because Vegeta didn't really pay attention to his son. He was always training. Yamcha was the one who decided to be a good friend and help Bulma with raising her son. "Thank you for all you did for me. I'll never forget you. You were a great friend to all of us, and I'll make sure your death was not in vain." He stared at Yamcha's scarred face, and although it was difficult, he did his best to smile for his dead friend. "Goodbye, Yamcha. I hope that your dream to get married someday comes true, even if it's in Heaven. And if there's any baseball matches up there, you make sure to win them all!"

He quickly turned around and walked away from Yamcha's corpse. It was so hard to say goodbye. He was trying his best not to break down. He still had other people to talk to, despite of how difficult and painful it would be. The pain in his chest became worse every time he found one of his friends' corpses, but that wasn't going to stop him from continuing his task, even though he knew the pain would get that much worse.

There were so many corpses around him—so many dead people. So many survivors were grieving for the dead people. Gohan could understand them. He was grieving, too. And it seemed he would have to grieve with them, because the next corpse he recognized happened to be around some other corpses. It was a fat body, and a katana was implanted into him, just into his heart. And there was only one warrior in the team that used a katana.

_'That's Yajirobe…'_ Yajirobe usually was a coward and he would run from fights. But it seemed that this time, it wasn't the case. Gohan walked towards the man's corpse, ignoring everyone around him. "You didn't run away this time, Yajirobe? That was brave of you." Some few more silent tears escaped Gohan's eyes. He didn't have such a close relationship with Yajirobe, but it was still very sad that the man had been able to put aside his coward personality and died trying to fight. "It was really brave of you…"

A purple-haired woman noticed Gohan talking to Yajirobe's corpse, and decided to walk towards him. "Did you know him?" she asked. Gohan turned to the woman, and after a few moments of silence he nodded. "He saved us," she told him. "He tried to defend us from those two monsters, but…" The woman began to shake. She had never seen something so horrifying in her entire life. "They killed him! Murdered him with his own katana…" Her lip quivered. "Then they proceeded to kill everyone he was trying to protect. I just survived with luck..."

Gohan stared at the woman some more. He could tell she was shaken and affected by what had happened. He turned his gaze to Yajirobe's corpse. "I can't believe that you out of all people tried to save others. You're usually so rude and selfish, but that didn't make you a bad guy…" His lip quivered. Yajirobe wasn't the greatest guy ever, but he did have a good heart deep inside him. The fact he died trying to protect people from the Androids just showed it. "I hope there's a huge feast waiting for you in Other World. I'm sure you'd like that." He smiled slightly at the thought of Yajirobe eating in Other World. That man did like to eat. But his smile disappeared as quickly as it came. "Goodbye, Yajirobe. I'll make sure that you didn't die in vain. I'll protect the people you died trying to protect. I'll protect everyone, I promise!"

"How are you going to do that?" the woman asked him. She had heard the boy's whole speech, and she couldn't judge him for it. She could understand where the kid was coming from, but there was really nothing he could do. He was just a kid! There was no way he was strong enough. The Androids would destroy him! "Those monsters… they're too strong. You're just a kid. You can't try to fight them. You'll be killed, just like this man…"

Gohan turned to see her, and she was surprised by the fire in his eyes. "No, I won't! I'll train as hard as I can and I will defeat the Androids. I know I'm a kid, but I will grow up and someday, I'll be strong enough to avenge everyone who was killed by the Androids! I know I can fight the Androids and survive. If I couldn't, I wouldn't be alive right now! I'm gonna live up to my father's legacy, and I will kill the Androids, or die trying! I will!"

Quickly, he turned and ran as far away from the people as possible. He didn't have enough energy to fly, and he wasn't really sure how he was still moving. His body ached like hell, but he pushed the horrible pain to the back of his mind. He wouldn't let the pain beat him. Not even the emotional pain in his chest that was suffocating him was going to prevent him from saying the final goodbye to the people that had been part of his whole life.

It was while he was running that he eventually found another corpse that was familiar. Gohan wasn't really sure how he recognized the corpse, but he did somehow. _'It's Tien's corpse…'_ He quickly approached Tien's dead body, and was horrified of what he saw. One of his legs had been disintegrated, his hands had some fingers missing, and his third eye had been tore out his face. "Tien…" Gohan bit his lip as new tears silently rolled down his face. "These monsters… what did they do to you?" He already knew the answer, and it was painful to think about it. "This isn't fair… And they left you alone…"

Gohan looked around. If Tien was here, then Chiaotzu had to be near as well. Tien and Chiaotzu were best friends, almost like brothers. It was only right if they got to rest together. He couldn't see anything that resembled Chiaotzu's body, but eventually, he saw something in the distance. _'Could that be…?'_ He ran towards what he saw, and halted in horror. _'Chiaotzu!'_

Or, at least, what remained of Chiaotzu. The left side of his body had been blasted, totally disintegrated, and his head was gone. It was a horrifying sight, but Gohan was kind of getting used to horror by now. "Chiaotzu…" He didn't even try to stop the flow of tears that came out of his eyes as he stared at corpse. "I'll get your head, and then I'll take you to Tien. It's the least I can do…"

The pain in his chest was excruciating, and it got worse every time he found one of his friends' corpses and saw how tortured it was. But Gohan tried his best to ignore it as he searched for Chiaotzu's head. It took him a while, but he eventually found it under some rubble near the rest of Chiaotzu's body. He looked at the expression on Chiaotzu's face, and the pain just got worse. He looked so scared. "You were scared, weren't you? I can't blame you. I was, too." He took Chiaotzu's head to where the rest of his body was, and then he moved Chiaotzu's corpse to where Tien's was.

"It's only fair for you two to be together. You were such close friends…" The overflow of tears just wouldn't stop, but Gohan's voice never lost its steadiness somehow. "I hope you'll be together in Other World, too. I'm sure you're gonna keep on training, and you'll become really strong!" Tien was always so focused in training, and Chiaotzu always followed his lead. It would be no surprise if those two trained non-stop in Heaven. "I'm gonna keep training, too, and I'm gonna do my best to become stronger than the Androids! I will make sure that those two monsters are defeated. I swear I will! Your deaths won't be for nothing."

He remembered all those moments he shared with Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu, and made sure to cherish them all well. He would never forget the two warriors, and he would make sure their deaths were avenged. "I'll take care of Launch, too. I have no idea how she'll react when I tell her this. I don't even know if it's worse to tell her when she's good or when she's bad…" Launch loved Tien with all of her heart, and she also cared a lot for Chiaotzu as well. Telling her that they were both death would not be easy, no matter the personality she would have at the moment. "Goodbye, Tien. Goodbye, Chiaotzu. I'll miss both of you. I really will." He stared at the corpses for a little longer. "Thanks for everything…" he finally whispered.

He turned around and continued walking. The pain was getting worse, both physical and emotional, but he couldn't stop. He still had two more corpses to say goodbye to. And he didn't think he would be able to do so without breaking down at one point. He was already crying by just thinking about those two, but he tried his best to remain strong. His father was such a tough man. Gohan would have to become tougher himself, too. But it was just so hard…

When Gohan saw one of the two corpses he was looking for, he felt his heart clench painfully. He already knew he was dead, but Gohan would be lying if he said that he didn't have any hope that maybe, he could've survived. "Krillin!" With energy he didn't knew he had, Gohan rushed as quickly as his legs could carry him towards the body of his father's best friend. But he didn't just stand beside the corpse like he had done with the others. No. He got on his knees and began shaking Krillin, like if he would wake up if he did that. "Krillin! Krillin! Can you hear me? Krillin!"

Gohan knew Krillin was dead. He did! But he didn't want to accept it. Out of all of his father's friends (discounting Piccolo), Krillin was the closest to him. He was like an uncle to him. They had so many crazy adventures together. They were both survivors of the Saiyan Invasion and they both went to Namek together. They had played together, fought together, joked together, and so many other things. When Krillin died on Namek, he couldn't come back with the Earthling Dragon Balls because he had been wished back once, but they had the Namekian Dragon Balls. Now they didn't have any of them. Everyone who died would never come back…

That was why he didn't want to accept Krillin's death. He didn't want to accept that he would never, ever see his friend again. It reminded him of when his father died due to the Heart Virus. He hadn't wanted to accept his powerful dad was gone forever. He cried and begged him to wake up, despite knowing that Goku would never come back because he was dead.

The similarity between the two situations just made Gohan cry harder. His father's death was a painful memory, and now he was reliving it in another situation. This time the murderer was not a Heart Virus, but two killer Androids. And this time, the one murdered was not his dear father, but his father's best friend—the man who took care of him whenever his father trusted him with that duty. The man that always tried to make sure he was safe. In dangerous situations, Krillin always took care of Gohan more than himself, and this battle was not the exception.

While it was true that he really didn't remember the battle very clearly, he did remember that particular moment in which Krillin decided to take Gohan's safety into his own hands and together they tried to escape the battle together. At first, Gohan didn't understand why they were escaping, and when he asked Krillin, the answer he received was, _"Because I wanna make sure the son of my best friend survives, Little Buddy. You can't die. If anyone can beat the Androids, it's you. I know it's you."_

Gohan had been so moved by those words. He was moved because he was surprised that Krillin believed so much in him. He couldn't really remember what happened after that, but he felt guilty for not being able to save the man that believed so much in him. Gohan finally stopped shaking Krillin's body, and instead he stared at the face of someone who gave his life trying to save him. "Krillin, thank you so much… I'm so sorry, I can't defeat the Androids. Not yet…" He sobbed. He hadn't sobbed once in this whole day, but he was finally breaking. "I'm really sorry. You shouldn't have died. It wasn't fair…" His voice was shaky now. "You shouldn't have died to save me. I'm sorry for always being so useless that you always have to save me. Everyone has to always save me!" He couldn't take the emotion he was feeling and he buried his head on Krillin's chest. "I'm so sorry!"

He cried into Krillin's chest until he finally calmed down enough to continue talking. He lifted his head to see Krillin's face, but his eyes did not miss the precise hole that Krillin had in his chest, just where his heart was. "I'm really sorry for letting you die, Krillin. I hope you can forgive me. I swear I'll do my best to defeat the Androids. You trusted that I would be able to do it with your own life and I'm not gonna let you down." He and Krillin had made so many memories together, and he would cherish them all in his heart. "You are a great friend, Partner. You were always there for Dad and for me." He sobbed again, but forced himself to continue despite the horrible pain in his heart. "Thank you for everything! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll keep on living as you wanted me to, and I will never forget you, Krillin. I swear I won't…"

It was horrible to think that he would never see Krillin until he died. He wished that things were different, but he knew wishing was not going to help in anything. If it did, then the Androids would have never appeared, and Goku would've still been alive. He just had to accept reality as it was. "Goodbye, Krillin. I hope you find a girlfriend in Other World, and I hope you're happy now that you're with Daddy and the others in a better place…" He wanted to be with his father and his friends, too, but he wasn't going to throw away the chance of living Krillin and the others fought so hard to give him. Besides, he couldn't just leave his mother, and the Androids were still around. "I'll become stronger, and I won't stop until I defeat the Androids, or die trying. I promise."

Now he only had one person left to say goodbye. And Gohan knew it would be the hardest goodbye, even harder than saying goodbye to Krillin. He didn't even want to imagine it. But instead of going forward, he returned to where he came from. He knew the one he was looking for was near where he woke up. He wasn't sure how, he just had a feeling. So, he continued walking, ignoring the burning city, the cries and screams of the grieving people, the loud sirens of ambulances and police, _everything_. He wasn't even crying anymore. Gohan was sure that he had no more tears left to spare after all he had cried that day.

The pain was definitely a hundred times worse than what it was when he first woke up, both physically and psychologically. He wasn't even sure how he was still moving, or thinking rationally. He wasn't even sure how he was keeping his sanity, _if_ he was actually keeping it. While walking towards his destination, Gohan began to wonder if it was really a good idea to say goodbye to the last person. The pain had been unbearable for a while now, and it got worse each time he found a familiar corpse. Maybe he could not say goodbye, and save himself from the horrible pain that he knew he would feel is he saw the corpse. _'But how can I not say goodbye? He's my best friend… I need to say goodbye, even if it hurts…'_

As he reached the place where he thought the corpse was, his chest began to tighten and the pain began to increase gradually. Maybe it was better if he turned away, but he already made the decision, and he wouldn't turn back now. So, despite the horrible pain, he continued to walk forward until he saw a green body lying in the distance. Gohan bit his lip. _'That is him… Piccolo…'_ The emotions he was feeling were overwhelming, but the young Saiyan did his best to get control of his emotions, and forced himself to be calm. When he saw Piccolo's body, he was awestruck and horrified.

Apparently the Androids knew about Piccolo's regeneration, because there were a _lot_ of arms and legs surrounding the Namekian's burned body that, ironically, did not have any limbs anymore. "Piccolo…" Gohan had thought that he didn't have any more tears left to spare, but he was proven wrong when new, fresh tears began escaping from his eyes as he stared at the gruesome sight. "Why… Why did they do this to you?" Why would they do this to Piccolo and everyone else? Gohan couldn't believe someone would be so twisted to do something so terrible just for fun, but then again, he really shouldn't be surprised.

The pain he was experiencing increased a hundredfold. He felt the need to fall to his knees and cry his eyes out, but he forced himself to be tough. Piccolo would've wanted him to be strong and not to show any weakness. "Hey, Piccolo… you don't look so good." He bit his lip again. "Of course you don't. You're dead…" Admitting Piccolo was dead was much harder than what he expected. Maybe it was because he knew that since Piccolo was dead, Kami was dead too and there were no more Dragon Balls. Maybe it was because Piccolo had always been such a strong warrior, so it was almost surreal that he was dead. Or maybe it was because Piccolo was his mentor and best friend and this time, he would not see him in this life ever again.

Gohan sobbed, but he forced himself to remain calm. "I'm sorry you're dead, Piccolo. I can't remember well, but I do remember it was my fault…" After the Androids had killed Krillin when they tried to escape, they had begun arguing for some reason. Gohan wasn't sure if he was going crazy, but for a second there, he thought that the female twin—Android #18, she called herself—was mad at her brother—Android #17—for killing Krillin. It was a crazy thought, but it was the conclusion Gohan got in that moment.

Of course, Piccolo took that opportunity to take Gohan to safety. Gohan was too filled with grief to react, so Piccolo had to take care of him. And Piccolo ended up dying trying to protect him, again. He couldn't remember many details. He couldn't even remember the battle between Piccolo and the Androids or how he ended up unconscious, but he was smart enough to connect the dots. "You died trying to protect me, again…" He gulped. He could feel the wetness rolling down his cheeks, but he didn't do anything to stop his tears. "I'm sorry," he told the corpse honestly. "I'm really sorry. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to take care of myself. You and Dad trained me better than this…"

He took a deep breath to calm the raging emotions he was feeling, as well as to soothe the excruciating pain that threatened to take over him. "I won't make the same mistakes again. I swear I won't ever need anyone to protect me anymore. I'll train myself and I'll become much stronger! And, when I'm in battle, I'll make sure to watch my back. I'll keep on surviving and I will keep on fighting. I won't let the Androids get away with this! I promise you, I won't!"

Gohan looked at Piccolo's face and began having flashbacks. He remembered when he woke up after Raditz knocked him unconscious. Piccolo was so scary, and he didn't seem nice at all. He told him his father was dead in a mean way, and forced him to train. At the beginning, Gohan was terrified of Piccolo. But, as time passed, he eventually began to like the Namekian. Gohan was able to realize Piccolo was lonely, so he decided to be the friend Piccolo needed. Piccolo was still mean to him, but Gohan didn't care, because he was his friend.

"I used to be so scared of you, Piccolo. You looked so mean and terrifying. I didn't like you, because you forced me to do things I didn't want. But, as time passed, I realized how lonely you were." Gohan didn't really have many friends himself, other than his parents, grandparents, and Goku's friends, but he was never alone. "I thought I could be that friend you needed. I tried to be your friend, but you were always mean to me. I never gave up, and when you told me what you really thought of me when you protected me from Nappa's attack, I…" Gohan's vision was blurred with tears. "I was happy, because you thought of me as your friend. But I was sad, because you were dying! And it was my fault!"

Seeing Piccolo die right in front of him because he took an attack that what meant for him was just terrible for Gohan. "I was so sad because you were dead, but when we realized there was still a chance to bring you and the others back, I was happy again! I wanted to go to Namek, because I felt I owed it to you to bring you back, and because you were my friend. Then there was Frieza…" Fighting Frieza was one of the scariest experiences of Gohan's life. Frieza was terrifying, and he killed a lot of people, including Vegeta and Krillin, right in front of his eyes. However, it was also when he saw his father's glorious transformation to a Super Saiyan. Gohan had never had so much hope in his entire life.

"We both managed to make it alive, remember?" Frieza almost killed them both at one point, but Dende's healing abilities managed to save them from death more than once. In the end, they were both back on Earth alive. "Dad beat Frieza because he transformed into a Super Saiyan, but he had to stay away from that reason, too." When Goku had transformed into a Super Saiyan, he just lost himself. When he managed to escape Namek and made it back to Yardrat, he decided to stay there to control his dangerous transformation, and also to learn a new, useful technique that would save their lives later. "You stayed with me while we waited for Dad to return, and we had so much fun together!"

Gohan was crying, but he managed to smile a little when thinking about his memories, although it was a sad smile. "Then Dad came back and defeated Frieza…" Goku finally coming back to Earth had to be one of Gohan's best days on his life. He was just so happy to have his father back! "Those had to be the happiest years of my life. My family was complete, you were there, and there were no more enemies." The Z-Fighters had relaxed and enjoyed the days of peace. Gohan had so much fun hanging out with Piccolo, his father, Krillin, and the others. If only they would have known… "But then my dad died…"

Gohan gritted his teeth. It might've been six months ago, but his father's horrible death was something that still hurt. He had moved on with his life, but the wound was still there and it hasn't healed yet. "It was horrible, Piccolo. Horrible! To see Dad die due to a stupid virus…" Gohan couldn't even keep talking as he remembered Goku's screams when the virus attacked his heart. It was horrible to see such a powerful warrior succumb to something as sad as a virus, especially when that warrior was his father. "You helped me a lot. You helped me to move on. I really thank you for that. I'm not sure if I could've moved on if you hadn't helped me to…"

The demi-Saiyan had thought that nothing could get worse now that his father had died, but he was proven wrong. "But now these Androids attacked, and everyone's dead. Even you… I'm the only one left…" He clenched his fist. "Your death won't be in vain, though. I'll avenge you, and everyone else who died fighting these Androids. I won't stop until I finally destroy them. I promise you that. I promise you I'll do my best to protect Earth, Piccolo. I swear."

He could've kept on talking and talking, but a part of him just wanted to finish. He couldn't just grieve for the rest of his life. He had to move on, and he would do so by fighting the Androids with everything he has. But first, he had to say goodbye, no matter how hard it was. "Goodbye, Piccolo. You were my best friend. I'll never forget you, and I'll make sure to make you proud—you, Dad, and the others as well. You will all be proud of me." With the heaviest heart Gohan had ever had in his life, he forced himself to part from his friends until he died himself. He looked up to the sky, and one, solitary tear rolled down his cheek. "Goodbye…"

He forced himself to forget the pain he was feeling and walked away from Piccolo's corpse, never looking back, not even once. But where was he going? He wasn't even sure. He felt so lost. He felt so sad. He felt so hurt. Most of all, he felt so angry!

He was angry at the Heart Virus, because it was what killed his father! If Goku had been alive, maybe they would've had a chance to defeat the Androids, but he was dead, and it was all because of a stupid virus.

He was angry at his father, because he let some stupid virus kill him! He was one of the strongest warriors in the universe, so how come he could succumb to a virus? He was stronger than that, but it didn't seem to matter because the virus ended his life, anyways.

He was angry at his friends, because they all died and left him behind! Why would they leave him behind? It wasn't fair that he was the one alive, stuck in a living Hell with two killer Androids on the loose, while they went to Other World to be together.

He was angry at the people, because they were all so weak that they couldn't fight and protect themselves! Why couldn't they fight and protect themselves? They had to be the ones that had to fight and suffer for their safety. Why couldn't they fight for their own safety? It was only fair if they did, but of course that they didn't.

He was angry at himself, because he was never able to protect himself! He was like the people; he always needed someone to take care of him. He always got everyone into trouble since they always had to take care of him. And because of his incompetence, his friends were dead.

Most of all, he was angry at the Androids, because it was their fault all of this was happening! It was their fault that the city was burning, survivors were grieving, crying and screaming, ambulances and police were running around—it was all their fault!

**_IT WAS ALL THEIR FAULT!_ **

Gohan was a kid that whenever he got angry, he transformed into a beast. It had happened before. When fighting Raditz, Vegeta, the Ginyu Force and Frieza. Being overwhelmed by rage was not something new to Gohan, and having a power-up while going berserk was not anything new either. But he had never felt so much rage in his life, and he had certainly had never felt such a big power-up. He literally screamed as loud as he could. He swore revenge to the Androids and he let the power overtake him.

He wasn't really sure _what_ had happened exactly. It was only when he saw the yellow aura surrounding him was when he realized what had happened. _'Could it be…?'_ He run towards a broken glass and gasped when he saw his golden hair. _'A Super Saiyan…'_

Gohan had imagined that, the day he finally turned into a Super Saiyan, he would be the happiest person alive. But that was not the case. He didn't feel happy. He didn't feel anything. He just felt the rage, the pain and sadness he was already starting to get used to. He was furious with the Androids, but he wasn't going to challenge them just yet. He just thought about how Vegeta was killed, even when being a Super Saiyan, and decided that he was still not strong enough to defeat the twin monsters.

Besides, there was something else he had to do first. He had said his goodbyes, but he hadn't given his friends a propel burial nor had he told the others about the Z-Fighters' tragic demise. Before the transformation, he was extremely worried of how he would break the news, but now that he was transformed, he didn't care much. The rage he was feeling wouldn't let him care. He just wanted to break the news, bury his friends, and move on. He couldn't grieve forever.

He remembered the promises he made to his friends' corpses. He really meant every single one of them. He was going to train himself, become stronger, and he would fight Androids until he could finally destroy them, or die trying. He would avenge his friends, and he would live up to his father's legacy. He would protect the Earth and its people, and he would become their hero. Most of all, he was going to make sure that every single death was not in vain.

Not one death would go unaccounted for.

Not one.

He would make sure of that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for giving this a read! Hope you enjoyed it. :)


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